Bart Simpson
Bartholomew JoJo Simpson is a fictional character in the American animated television series The Simpsons and part of the Simpson family. He is voiced by Nancy Cartwright and first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987. Cartoonist Matt Groening created and designed Bart while waiting in the lobby of James L. Brooks' office. Groening had been called to pitch a series of shorts based on his comic strip, Life in Hell, but instead decided to create a new set of characters. While the rest of the characters were named after Groening's family members, Bart's name is an anagram of the word brat. After appearing on The Tracey Ullman Show for three years, the Simpson family received its own series on Fox, which debuted December 17, 1989. History with the Macy's Parade Bart Simpson Bart Simpson first appeared in the parade in 1990, at the height of the character and show's popularity, and was the third to last character balloon in the parade that year. Unlike the other giant character balloons made from 1984 to 2019, Raven Aerostar didn't make this balloon, instead, it was made by another company called Bigger Than Life. Since Bigger Than Life didn't produce balloons at a high quality standard compared to Aerostar, the seams on Bart didn't hold together well, and he had to constantly be patched up. It is possible this is why he was retired in 1995. He is likely to never return due to the new rules. Though it is a common misconception that the Bart Simpson balloon was disposed of after a while, as his stitching proved faulty and the balloon's overall terrible condition, this was later proven false when a whiteboard at Macy's Parade Studio was found, and stated that he had been salvaged. Incidents * In 1990, due to the faulty stitching, the balloon was getting deflated the night before the parade started, but was repaired in time for his first march down Broadway. * In 1991, Bart's left leg was deflated due to the balloon slowly losing helium. * In 1992, Bart's right finger was deflated. He also almost hit a building. * In 1993, Bart's T-shirt was ripped open by a streetlight due to the windy weather but made it through the parade route. * In 1995, the winds nearly blew Bart into an obstacle at Herald Square, but was pushed back with no damage done to him. Defects * In 1994 and 1995, Bart's neck was deflated, likely due to the balloon starting to wear and tear. Trivia * In the Season 2 episode "Bart vs. Thanksgiving", Bart and Homer watch a parody of the Macy's Parade on television. Then, after Bart mentions why the parade would use characters who are 50 years old (after discussing about Bullwinkle and Underdog), a Bart balloon appears on the television, which is an obvious nod to the Bart balloon debuting that year, when the episode aired. * During the 2015 Thanksgiving update for a mobile game The Simpsons: Tapped Out , a Bart Simpson parade balloon was added as a decoration. This is a nod to the real balloon, complete with Bart being in a similar pose on his skateboard. * On the 31st season of the Simpsons episode "Thanksgiving of Horror". In the credits sequence had the balloon's 1991 NBC Telecast appearance with creepy music playing in the background. Music * "The Simpsons Theme" (Band Version) Gallery *Gallery: Bart Simpson Category:Macy's Balloon Characters Category:1990 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade Category:Retired Balloons Category:Big Balloons Category:TV Characters Category:Cartoon Characters Category:1990s Balloons Category:Male Balloons Category:Balloons used outside of the parade Category:Balloons that were in an accident Category:Balloons with misconceptions